It's amazing how much time we have spent working on our new home and yet how much there is still yet to do! Scott and I spent most of the day yesterday gathering materials and then doing things such as repainting our front gate, stripping paint from our front windowsill and repainting it, and staining furniture. Scott also spent most of the day debating whether or not this was a "nesting" instinct of mine or if I would have gone through these motions no matter what. I think that he has forgotten that he was not around the first month or so of living in our last place to see all the effort that went into making it as nice as possible as well. Though we have yet to rid ourselves of the hideous furniture - I hope to take pictures before it is picked up on Wednesday so that you can all see just how truly revolting it is (Stephanie came over last night and was amazed that anybody would have the thought to MAKE such an eyesore, let alone that anybody then followed through and purchased it!) - I have to say the place is coming along quite nicely. One of the largest challenges we have encountered is the fact that, once again, our walls are mainly all concrete and it is therefore difficult to hang decorations. I will succeed, however!

Additionally, we are slowly gathering furniture for our arrival in the near future. We scored a dresser and changing table for a total of £35 at Ikea on Friday night. That store can suck out all of your energy as you get lost in the endless maze of stuff (I used to know my way around perfectly, including all the shortcuts to bypass areas I had no interest in, but they have rearranged everything since we were there last, thus vastly prolonging our shopping experience), but you can't argue with cheap purchases of new furniture! We stained the dresser to match (hopefully) the cot (aka: crib) when it arrives. Once the cot is here, we can proceed to complete the nursery and decorations. I have to admit that I am highly excited about this!

And in equally exciting news, I went to the doctor on Friday and learned that I have LOST FIVE POUNDS in the last seven weeks. Considering that my stomach has continued growing during this time and I have not retainined any water during my pregnancy thus far (I am happy to announce that my ankles continue to be as noticeable as they ever were), it is quite a mystery how this has happened (especially since I appear to have developed somewhat of an appetite for the first time in my pregnancy since the bouts of illness are few and far between these days). However, it does give my hope that this child might not be as large and in charge as I have been fearing. (Though there is no denying that he will still be on the larger side of newborns. After all, EVERYBODY has been telling me for over a month now that I look due any day. That can't be a good sign.)

6 weeks of work left...and counting! Then I start my 6-7 months of maternity leave! Not to shabby for Cheryl!